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Influence of gender in learning
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Have schools been teaching their students the wrong way for years? Apparently, coeducation schools have not been as sensitive about genders as single-gender schools have been. It is necessary for schools to be geared toward certain genders because both male students and female students learn differently. Due to the fact that the biology of male and female students is an immense contributor to these differences, it needs to be understood and exercised. Differences of the two genders can be used to many school systems’ advantages. Gender is still not quite declared as being a factor in development either for educators. Relating to the way that males and females are taught, methods utilized should be different because their thought processes are different, their natural biologics are distinctive, and coeducational settings have proven to be ineffective, if not worse, to students’ performance in schools.
Foremost, schools need to be better adaptive for certain genders because both comprehend ideas differently. According to Gurian, high testosterone improves a male’s performance on spatial exams, but worsens scores on verbal exams. Additionally, estrogen improves standardized testing and class exams when at high levels in females (Gurian 29). Interestingly, evidence suggests that single sex instruction is beneficial to both male and female students for short-term and long-term studies (Hoffman 17). In one study done by Hoffman, grades and standardized test scores were compared between students with single sex instruction and students in coeducational settings. It was found that students taking single sex instruction had higher achievement levels than those students taking coeducational classes (Hoffman 17). Further, the cl...
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Works Cited
Baron-Cohen Simon. The Essential Difference. New York: Basic Books, 2003. Print.
Gurian, Michael. Boys and Girls Learn Differently! San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001. Print.
Hoffman, Bobby H., Barbara A. Badgett, and Robert P. Parker. “The Effect of Single-Sex Instruction in a Large, Urban, At-Risk High School.” September/October 2008. PDF.
Kaminer, Wendy. “The Trouble with Single-Sex Schools.” The Atlantic. N.p. N.d. Web. 13 November 2011.
Leman, Kevin. Making Sense of the Men in your Life. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2000. Print.
Pease, Barbara, and Allan Pease. Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps. Mona Vale: Pease Training International, 2000. Print.
Poole, Robert. Eve’s Rib. New York: Crown Publishers, 1994. Print.
Sax, Leonard. Why Gender Matters. New York: Doubleday, 2005. Print.
It seems that single-sex education perpetuates gender stereotypes and promotes gender bias among students (Taylor). Gender-separate education requires schools and teachers to create gender-oriented courses, facilities, and learning environment. As a result, sing-sex schools exacerbate sexist attitudes and “feelings of superiority toward women” (Guarisco). It is fair to argue that the best way to achieve gender equality is to promote rather than eliminate interaction among girls and boys. However, girls in the sex-mixed class receive less attention from teachers than boys, which may lead to gender bias. More precisely, boys always have disciplinary issues, such as interruption; teachers have to pay more attention to boys’ behaviors in order to proceed the lecture more smoothly. Girls may feel less important and supportive in male-dominated classes; boys may think that males are smarter and far superior than females. Single-sex schools can address both girls’ and boys’ issues of gender stereotypes directly and accordingly. Male students may be freer to engage in some activities they have not considered before in mixed schools. For example, boys feel pressure to follow some non-macho interests when girls stay around them; however, the all-boys schools eliminate their pressure toward gender stereotyping to pursue music, dance, and drawing. Single-sex schools would help boys explore and develop themselves. Also, girls in sex-separate schools show more confidence and power (Guarisco). They could receive full attention from teachers and express their opinions in science classes without worrying about the boys’ banter. They may realize that they are as important as boys. Hence, both girls and boys can be free from gender stereotypes and benefit from a same-sex learning
Sadker, Myra, David Sadker, and Susan Klein. "The Issue of Gender in Elementary and Secondary Education." Review of Research in Education 17 (1991): 269. JSTOR. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
Because young boys are more active they often are disciplined, while girls are often quieter and naturally become a teacher’s favorite. This causes problems because classrooms naturally become more attuned to a girl’s style of learning, leaving young boys behind in the classroom from an early age. “Boy Problems” by Ann Hulbert goes into detail over the increasing “gender educational disparity.” Hulbert gives the reader useful information about how and why men are falling behind and the increasing gender differences in education. When fixing a problem one must first realize the problem exists. Now that the problem has come to light, action must be
Brooks argues that male and female brains work and experience things differently. He suggests that this theory is also the reason as to why young girls are surpassing their male counterparts in school settings. He incorrectly assumes that by separating males and females, males will be allowed to break free from gender stereotypes. Brooks strengthens his argument with results of brain research on sex differences. But, Brook’s argument is unpersuasive. He categorizes all young males, and suggest that single sex-schools are the best solution for them. He wants to apply a black-and-white solution to something that is just not that simple. While Brooks uses comparisons and surveys to convince the reader, his argument simply does
Education was sex segregated for hundreds of years. Men and women went to different schools or were physically and academically separated into “coeducational” schools. Males and females had separate classrooms, separate entrances, separate academic subjects, and separate expectations. Women were only taught the social graces and morals, and teaching women academic subjects was considered a waste of time.
Sending a child to a gender based school, is a very big decision to make. The decision is so big, that looking at what research has to say about the topic could alter one’s decision to send their child to a gender based school. “Educators must apply different approaches in teaching make, and female students” (Gurian). This is said by Gurian, because he also believes that boys and girls learn differently. “Social pressures can be gentler and your child can learn at his own pace” (Kennedy).
As time allowed more men and more women to be schooled together, it was evident that a woman's presence alone would not ensure an equally beneficial education. The school systems continue to follow a gendered curriculum, created mainly by men in order to serve men. It is the reinforcement of the gender biases and assumptions through their methodical distribution and teaching of stereotypes and ideas that put the education of men and women on two separate levels. There is no example to follow when it comes to the equal education of children because even though they receive the same education, it is far from equal. It is this along with the lack of recognition towards women who have achieved greatness both in and out of education that creates an outsider status for the female student (Lasser, 1987).
Wolfgang, Benjamin. "Boys in One Class, Girls in Another at More Schools; Single-sex Option Grows, but Some Still Skeptical." Washington Times [Washington, DC] 2 Sept. 2011: A07. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Dec. 2013.
Martinez, Gladys, Joyce Abma, and Casey Copen. “Educating Teenagers About Sex In The United States”. CDC.GOV. Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Feb.2014
Summers, Christopher B. “Md. Should Support Single-Sex Schools.” Baltimore Sun. Mar. 2013: A.13. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. Jan. 2014.
Finally, there is no one sex school is going to be right for every student. There are many advantages and disadvantages mentioned in that essay before. But it's thought all over the world that the coeducation is preferred worldwide. About 90 % of schools all over the world are stuck to co-education. Mixed-sex education has achieved higher success rate. They also graduate students who are settled emotionally and able to deal with the real society. "There are not any dominant blessings for single-sex schools on academic grounds. Studies all over the world have failed to expose any major variations.'' - Academician Alan Smothers, director of education and employment analysis at the University of Buckingham 2011.
The proponents of single-sex education argue that boys and girls have differing needs and that their styles of learning are different. Education which respects personal differences must take this into account. ( Mullins 124) Single-gender schools seem logical, than, to a public that accepts that gender differences are real and likes the idea of expanding choices. (Silv...
The first all female schools began in the early 1800’s. These academies favored more traditional gender roles, women being the home makers and the men being the bread winners. The first generation of educated women was the result of single-sex colleges in 1873. Wendy Kaminer, an investigative journalist, states that “single-sex education was not exactly a choice; it was a cultural mandate at a time when sexual segregation was considered only natural” (1). Women of this time were technically not allowed to attend school with males. Feminists of this time worked hard to integrate the school system and by the early 1900’s, single sex classrooms were a thing of the past. In 1910, twenty-seven percent of colleges were for men only, fifteen percent were for women only and the remainders were coed. Today, women outnumber men among college graduates (Kaminer 1). After all the hard work of early feminists, there are thousands of people today who advocate bringing back the single sex classroom.
Single-sex education has shown to be effective in helping students maintain their focus inside the classroom and learn better by doing so. The distraction of the other gender is not present in the classroom environment which enables the students to primarily focus on what they are learning. According to Pahlke's article titled "The effects of Single-Sex Compared With Coeducational Schooling on Mathematics and Science Achievement: Data From Korea", s...
This problem occurs in schools everywhere and is starting to become more evident in today's society. The problem is that boys and girls learning potential are not being reached when put into the same teaching atmosphere. Girls seem to be out smarting boys in many classes. While boys excel in math and sciences and girls seem to be better in English. The styles in which boys and girls feel comfortable with are extremely different. The learning styles of girls usually contain socializing and context. For instance, most girls like to talk in small groups about the current discussion. They also like hands on activities or real life situations to compare things to. Boys are confrontational and formal. They need to be challenged by their teachers to help motivate them to become better students and be prepared. In contrast girls do not like to be confronted by teachers who are asking for an immediate answers. In most cases, girls seem to be more reserved and modest than boys about their intelligence ("What are someÉ) are. Their differences may not seem evident but make a difference to reaching their highest learning potential.